Officer v. New York Life Insurance

216 P. 253, 73 Colo. 495, 1923 Colo. LEXIS 387
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedMay 7, 1923
DocketNo. 10,382
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 216 P. 253 (Officer v. New York Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Officer v. New York Life Insurance, 216 P. 253, 73 Colo. 495, 1923 Colo. LEXIS 387 (Colo. 1923).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Sheafor

delivered the opinion of the court.

The plaintiff in error brought this suit against the defendant in error to recover, the sum of $2598.57, with interest, which he claims as a balance due upon a policy of insurance issued by the defendant, bearing date February 5, 1903, insuring the life oi plaintiff’s testator, Alexander Vernon Officer.

The complaint alleges and the answer admits: That on February 5, 1903, for a consideration therein stated, defendant, executed its insurance policy and thereby insured the life of plaintiff’s testator. That defendant is a life insurance company incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, doing business in Colorado. That on October 4, 1920, testator departed this life; that on December 11, 1920, plaintiff furnished defendant with proofs of death of said insured; that the tabular annual rate of premium on the policy when written was $148.59; that in January, 1921, defendant paid plaintiff upon the policy the sum of $3000; that Alexander V. Officer, the insured, paid each and every semi-annual premium called for by the terms of the policy up to and including the semi-annual premium due February 5, 1920, and that on or about September 17, 1920, he delivered at defendant’s Colorado [497]*497branch office, in Denver, the sum of $78.05, for the purpose of reinstating the policy, following his omission to pay the semi-annual premium thereon of $77.28, due August 5, 1920; that the insured signed and left at defendant’s Colorado branch office a written application, to the home office of defendant for reinstatement of the policy and that the application with accompanying evidence therein as to Officer’s insurability was made by inserting in a blank form entitled, “Application for reinstatement of policy,” answers to questions therein propounded.

The policy was made part of the complaint and contains the following provision concerning reinstatement of policy: “Reinstatement.—While the insurance under this policy will automatically continue as herein provided if any premium or interest is not paid on the date when due, the company will restore the policy as of the date of such nonpayment, on payment by the insured of such premium or interest within one month thereafter with interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum; or, the company will restore the policy as of the date of such non-payment, at any time after one month and within the accumulation period, under the following conditions: written application to the home office with evidence of insurability satisfactory to the company; payment of a sum equal to all the premiums that would have fallen due had all such premiums been paid on the dates when due up to the time of reinstatement together with interest thereon at the rate of 5 per cent per annum.”

The policy contains also this provision: “Only the president, a vice-president, the actuary, or the secretary has power in behalf of the company to make or modify this or any contract of insurance or to extend the time for paying any premium, and the company shall not be bound by any promise or representation heretofore or hereafter given by any person other than the above. * * * Premiums are due and payable at the home office, unless otherwise agreed in writing.”

The defendant demurred to the complaint which was [498]*498overruled, and upon which ruling it has assigned cross-errors.

The defendant then answered, alleging in substance, that the premium due August 5, 1920, was not paid when due, nor within one month thereafter; that on September 17, 1920, the insured paid at defendant’s Colorado branch office, at Denver, Colorado, the sum of $78.05, the amount of the premium due August 5, 1920, with interest; that on October 1, 1920, insured signed a blank entitled, “Application for reinstatement of policy”, containing among other things, answers to questions therein propounded for the purpose of presenting evidence with respect to his insurability; that the application was left by him at the Colorado branch office of defendant on October 1, 1920, and was forwarded from that office on October 2, 1920, to the home office of the company at New York, but did not reach that office until October 5, 1920; that the insured died on October 4, 1920; that the branch office was subject to the control and direction of the home office and could only act in pursuance of instructions from the home office; that the authority of the Colorado branch office, with respect to applications for reinstatement of lapsed policies, was limited to the receipt of the applications and the forwarding of the same to the home office and the receipt of the amount required to be paid in connection with the reinstatement; that the branch office had no authority to act upon the application or to reinstate the policy and that it did not pass upon the same; that the application was not passed upon or approved by defendant during the lifetime of the insured.

The answer denied indebtedness to plaintiff in any sum whatever and further alleged that the sum of 578.05 delivered by Officer at its Colorado branch office on September 17, 1920, was by the defendant, prior to the commencement of the suit, repaid to the plaintiff.

To the questions propounded in the insured’s application for reinstatement of policy, the insured answered that he suffered from nervous exhaustion during the summer of [499]*4991919; that Dr. J. W. Harris of Denver had .treated him, and that at the time of the application he was in fairly sound health with no organic trouble.

The reinstatement application contains a warranty that the answers made by him to the questions propounded in the application were full, complete and true, and made to induce the defendant to reinstate the policy, and with the agreement that defendant should rely and act upon the answers, solely, in passing upon the application for reinstatement of the policy which lapsed for non-payment of premium due September 5, 1920, for which reason it was not in force except under its non-forfeiture provision; also a further provision that the policy should not be deemed reinstated by reason of any cash paid, settlement made, or otherwise, unless and until defendant, at its home office, in acting upon the application, should have reinstated the policy during insured’s lifetime and good health, and that if defendant did not mail from its home office, within thirty days from date of application, notice of reinstatement, the application should be deemed declined, and defendant on demand, with surrender of receipt given therefor, should return any payment made, with the application.

To defendant’s answer plaintiff demurred, which was overruled, whereupon plaintiff filed his replication.

The first reply in substance alleges that until it filed its answer July 25, 1921, defendant did not inform plaintiff that said reinstatement application was deemed unsatisfactory, but contra on divers occasions, stated as its sole reason for refusing to pay plaintiff’s demands, that the application did not reach defendant’s home office during the insured’s lifetime; that it did not appear from the answer that the reinstatement application was not passed upon and approved by defendant soon after it reached its home office. The second reply of plaintiff predicates estoppel on the alleged fact that defendant declined to receive the application for reinstatement unless the insured should sign the printed form with all blanks filled, which printed form contained a paragraph to the effect that the policy should [500]

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Bluebook (online)
216 P. 253, 73 Colo. 495, 1923 Colo. LEXIS 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/officer-v-new-york-life-insurance-colo-1923.